Center of Universe to be preserved; Boston Avenue bridge construction set to begin next month

The bridge is located between First and Archer streets over the BNSF railroad, and the Center of the Universe attraction is located on top of the bridge. The bridge was opened in the early 1980s, and the Center of the Universe, a concrete and brick circle with an acoustic anomaly in the center of the bridge, has become a popular attraction for visitors.

The city of Tulsa and the Downtown Tulsa Partnership are collaborating to repair the bridge and the Center of the Universe. The rehabilitation project will repair the bridge deck, concrete beams, abutments, caps and columns. An elastomeric coating will be applied to abutment and cap surfaces, and the overlay will be removed and replaced.

“So as far as the project itself, we’re going to be doing a whole lot of preventive maintenance and routine repairs just to make sure that the bridge is in a healthy condition and extend the service life,” Elliot Stiles, project manager for the city of Tulsa, said at a public meeting about the project.

The city contracted with Daris Contractors for the $3,514,980 project, which Vision Tulsa and Improve Our Tulsa 2 will fund.

Improvements to the Center of the Universe will follow the bridge rehabilitation project and will be built with a mix of public and private funding.

Stiles said Phase 1 of the project is estimated to take about four months and will involve work underneath the bridge, such as maintenance to the columns and underside of the bridge. This phase of the project will not impact access to the bridge and is estimated to take place from August to December.

Stiles said Phase 2 will involve closure to pedestrian traffic and will take about six months to complete.

Stiles said the acoustic anomaly aspect of the Center of the Universe will be preserved and said the artificial cloud sculpture at the attraction will also be protected.

Stiles said the bridge will remain open for the Route 66 Marathon, where participants can run to the top of the bridge near the end of the race. This year’s Route 66 Marathon is Nov. 23-24.

The bridge portion of the marathon is “super fun, and it’s an important part of the race, so we want to make sure that it’s preserved and protected, and the contractor has assured us that will be able to make sure that’s open for that race,” Stiles said.

The Downtown Tulsa Partnership will focus on the above-deck portion of the bridge.

Emily Scott, director of planning and vitality at Downtown Tulsa Partnership, said it is obvious that the bridge’s upper deck portion needs some care and attention, and she said DTP surveyed community members for input on how to improve the bridge.

Scott said more than 80% of respondents asked for better shading in the area, and other requests included more amenities, more interactive ways for children to engage with the space and updates to landscaping.

“So we’re really excited to be going back, redesigning the space and really bringing it into the 21st century here,” Scott said.

She said Downtown Tulsa Partnership is finalizing its design for the area and awaiting approval of construction documents before beginning its portion of the project next year.